21 Year Old Finds Her Thumb Nail Bruise Is Actually Cancer

Melanoma on the extremities is the rarest type of skin cancer. But it is also one of the most aggressive.

Karolina Jasko has a family history of melanoma. She's no stranger to paying attention to her skin.

She’d been getting her nails done once or twice a month for a couple of years with a gel polish that was cured with UV light.

When the acrylics were removed during one particular visit, the technician pointed out what seemed to be a bruise on her right thumbnail.

It looked like a straight thin line drawn with a pencil from the top to the bottom of her nail, with “a purplish tint” to it, Jasko recalled.

Dr. Vishal Patel, assistant professor of dermatology at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, worries these type of cases may be on the rise with the popularity of gel manicures that require the polish to be hardened under ultraviolet light.

“It’s like tanning beds for your hands,” Patel, who is also the director of the cutaneous oncology program at the GW Cancer Center.

Though this was not the case for Jasko, it is still a concern in Patel's eyes.

She was able to get the nail removed, along with the melanoma but wishes to raise awareness.

To read more about Karolina's story, click here.